Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that when you are making a plan with
Speaker 1: other people, offer multiple pathways for being part of it.
Speaker 1: If you do, you are more likely to settle on
Speaker 1: a plan that works well for everyone. I've recently heard
Speaker 1: about a volunteer team debriefing about a reception they had
Speaker 1: hosted where fewer families than hoped provided food. One volunteer
Speaker 1: asked whether next time maybe they could offer the opportunity
Speaker 1: to contribute money instead of food. That would serve the
Speaker 1: same purpose of keeping the organization from having to buy food,
Speaker 1: and contributing cash instead of food might be a welcome
Speaker 1: option for people who are time constrained. Then, another volunteer
Speaker 1: suggested that an additional way to participate could be for
Speaker 1: a volunteer to take that donated money and buy food
Speaker 1: with it. A brilliant idea, since some people have more
Speaker 1: spare time than money in so many contexts, more people
Speaker 1: can participate when you offer multiple pathways. If you invite
Speaker 1: friends for dinner and they ask what they could bring,
Speaker 1: you could suggest they bring an appetizer or drink or
Speaker 1: you could suggest they bring a music playlist or a
Speaker 1: great story. Then they can choose what works for them,
Speaker 1: and whatever they bring will contribute to a great evening.
Speaker 1: If you want to meet up with a friend, you
Speaker 1: could suggest a before work walk, a weekday lunch, or
Speaker 1: a cookout with your families on the weekend. Then hopefully
Speaker 1: at least one of those options will work well for her.
Speaker 1: If you are negotiating with a potential employer about a job,
Speaker 1: you could consider not just compensation but also location. How
Speaker 1: many days are you in the office each week, how
Speaker 1: many hours are you expected to work? What about perks
Speaker 1: like days of PTO. When you consider more variables in
Speaker 1: your negotiation, you are more likely to agree to a
Speaker 1: package you are both excited about. Even in more mundane contexts,
Speaker 1: you can offer multiple pathways. When you are playing schedule
Speaker 1: tetris and trying to figure out how you and your
Speaker 1: partner can get your kids where they need to go,
Speaker 1: you could lay out a few possible plans, all feasible,
Speaker 1: even if none of them ideal. Then you could let
Speaker 1: your partner pick whatever option he or she prefers. You
Speaker 1: have identified options that seem workable to you and the
Speaker 1: other party picks the pathway so you're both reasonably happy.
Speaker 1: When you're trying to develop a plan, it can be
Speaker 1: wise to offer multiple pathways for achieving the plan's goals.
Speaker 1: With multiple options available, everyone can find a pathway that
Speaker 1: works for them. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,
Speaker 1: or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura
Speaker 1: vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.
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